The Look That Said You Loved Me
by DEstiny4TVDelena
Summary: One-Shot. Post 4x19. Damon goes back to the cellar to confront elena about the look she gave him right before they locked her up. Can he finally break through and get her to turn on her humanity? RxR!


Standing outside of the cellar where Elena had been locked up since her "I'm going to kill my best friend faze" Damon gazed upon her still form staring up at the ceiling thinking he would do anything to get back the girl he loved with all his heart.

"I knew that look." Damon said.

"What look?" She replied irritation evident in her tone.

"The look that said you loved me."

"Seriously Damon? This _AGAIN_!? What do I have to do to get it through your thick skull? Here let me spell it out. Dumb it down for your love sick brain. I. DO. NOT. LOVE. YOU. I have NEVER loved you."

"Huh. You had me fooled. That must have been one_ really_ good one night stand."

"Oh it was. Not to boost your ego or anything but you are_ really_ good in bed. Love had nothing to do with it. I spent three years fighting that I was attracted to you and it exploded. It was purely physical. Nothing more."

"With the way you moved in my bed, that was more than just sex."

"Please enlighten me then, oh wise one. What was it exactly?"

Damon steps closer to the door placing his hands on the bars in the window. "You know exactly what it was."

Elena's eyes soften for a brief moment but quickly return to their cold lifelessness.

"Just go Damon. There is no reason for you to be here."

"And miss seeing you sulk in here by your self? No way. I'm here until you turn your emotions back on. I know you loved me and I know that you still do. You just need to let the guard down. Trust me its not protecting you from life its keeping you from it."

"Well Damon, might as well make yourself comfortable because that is not happening anytime soon. The Elena that you loved is gone. She's gone and she is never coming back. Nothing that you say or do will bring her back. You want to talk about not living? Look at you. You are hold up in this cellar with me trying to fix me. Well guess what? I don't want to be fixed. You are just wasting your life away loving someone who doesn't want you." She stated coldly turning away from the door.

"I have nothing; I am nothing without you. If you are never coming back then neither am I." Damon replied.

Damon removes his daylight ring and places it between the bars in the window and speeds away. Elena sighs and physically relaxes now that Damon is gone. She looks up at the door and notices something lying in the window. Slowly she rises from the makeshift bed and walks to the door. As she picks up the object a small gasp escaped her lips as Damon's ring slips onto her thumb. Noticing that damon left the door unlocked and realizing what Damon had planned she uses her vampire speed to race from the cellar back to the main floor of the boarding house.

"DAMON!" Elena screams "Damit Damon answer me! I know you are here! You don't get to do this! You don't get to take the easy way out! Damon! Damon!"

Elena runs to Damon's room hoping she will find him there just simply ignoring her. She bursts into the room finding it empty.

"Damon..." she whispers.

She looks around the room once more and she comes across Damon's trunk. She walks up to the trunk remembering that this was the place Damon kept the things he felt were of enough value to hold onto throughout the many years of his existence. Kneeling to the ground she slowly lifts the lid off the trunk leaning it up against the window. Looking down she finds the trunk filled with old pictures and letters and random knick knacks. Finding nothings of interest she begins to stand. As she rises a breeze comes through the open window rustling the items causing a photo to be thrown from the box. Elena sighs bending to pick up the photo. Seeing the date on the back side she pauses just as her fingers graze the page. April 22nd, 2010.

"Wait that was..."

Elena turns the photograph over revealing her and Damon locked in an embrace dancing at Miss Mystic Falls. As the photo falls from her hands she gasps, a single tear running down her cheek. Elena rushes from the room, flashing down the stairs to find Damon standing in the parlor facing the fire with his signature tumbler of bourbon resting in his hand.

"Damon" Elena sighs.

Damon standing completely still and silent gives her no reply.

"Damon please. Please look at me."

"I'm done with your games Elena. I'm tired. We can try again tomorrow." Damon replied exhaustion evident in his tone.

Elena walks up to Damon and places her hand on his shoulder turning him to face her.

"Ele-"

Once he is fully facing her he notices the tears flowing freely down her face. Cupping her cheeks in his hands he slowly raises her face to look at her, the tears in her eyes mirroring his own.

"Elena? Elena is it really you?" Elena tried to return her gaze to the ground but Damon was too strong. "Elena talk to me." He says brushing the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.

"I'm _SO_ sorry Damon" Elena barley chokes out through her tears collapsing to the ground.

Damon catches her before she hits the ground and pulls her into his arms.

"I've got you" he whispers into her hair. "I've got you"

"D-D-Damon. What have I done? I'm s-s-so s-s-sor-r-ry. I-I-I didn't mean it. I didn't m-m-mean any of it." she sobs.

"Shhhhh Elena shhh. It's okay. You're okay. It's over now."

"But-t-t how can you ever forgi-iv-ve me-e-e? I t-t-told you...I-I-I said such h-h-orible t-t-things to you. Things I-I-I Knew-w-w w-w-ould h-h-hurt y-you." she replies almost inaudibly.

"Baby shhhh. It's okay. It's okay. Just calm down. Shhhh." Damon soothes, stroking her hair in the hopes to calm her.

Elena continues to sob clutching onto Damon's arms, her tears soaking through Damon's black t-shirt. After some time her sobs slowly simmer into gasps as she rises up from his chest to look into his piercing blue eyes. She raises her hands and cups his cheeks just as he did with her moments before. She rises up onto her knees. Leaning in she places the softest of kisses on his lips. To him it almost felt like a goodbye kiss. Pulling away she shyly lowers her gaze to the floor.

"Elena what is it?" Damon asked uneasily.

Slowly she looks up avoiding his gaze as she whispers "Have I lost you forever?"

Damon's eyes widen. Those were the last words he'd thought he would hear. He grabs her chin and forces her to meet his gaze.

"What do I have to do to get it through your thick skull." he replies with his signature smirk plastered across his face.

Elena cringes looking down as her line is thrown back in her face. Damon's face turns serious.

"Sorry. Too soon. Elena look at me."

Elena slowly raises her eyes to meet his as he cups her cheeks once again. He slowly caressed her cheeks with his thumbs, his baby blues piercing into her brown doe eyes.

"I promised you that I would never leave you again. I intend to keep that promise."

"But Damon, how can you ever forgive me? I told you I never loved you, that I felt nothing for you. I said those things just to hurt you. That's unforgivable."

"Well that's just too bad. I do forgive you. I've already made it blatantly obvious that I am nothing without you. Do you really think I'd let something as little as you hurting me get in the way of being with you? Sure it hurt like hell to hear you say those things but, I know you better than anyone and I was hoping that deep down you weren't being honest..."

"Damon?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

Damon's eyes widen in shock still not used to hearing those words coming from her mouth. He doesn't think he will ever get used to it nor tire of hearing them. Elena rises from the floor and begins to walk to the staircase.

"Where are you going? You can't just walk away after that."

"Why not? You know that. I've told you before."

"No you told me while you were under the sire bond. Then once it was broken you told me it was all a lie. That none of it was real. I can hope that you do all I want but, no, I don't know."

Elena walks back up to Damon and holds his face in her hands.

"Okay. I am here. Right now. Emotions in tact. No sire bond. So you listen carefully. I love you Damon Salvatore. I am in love with you. It was and still is the most real thing I have ever felt in my entire life. I am so sorry for ever making you doubt that." Damon grabs ahold of her hands running his thumbs across them before lowering them from his face. He then walks causally to the staircase.

"Where are you going?" Elena asks shocked.

"To our bedroom" Damon replied casually.

"You're seriously not going to say anything? I just tol-walt did you just say our bedroom?" She asks a smile forming on her lips.

"Mhmmm"

Elena stands still, too shocked to move.

"You coming?" Damon asks.

His voice snaps her back to reality. Elena walks up to Damon lacing her fingers through his as they ascend the stairs to their room.

"What was it?" Damon asked as they entered the room.

"What was what?" she replied.

"What was it that made you turn it back on?" He clarified.

Elena removes the ring from her thumb where it still rested and picks up the photo from Miss Mystic Falls from the floor. She places the photograph in his hand and places the ring on top.

"You."

That was all the explanation he needed. One word and he understood perfectly. That one word held more meaning between them then a thousand words ever could.

"Would you have done it?" Elena asks, pain slipping through as she takes the ring from him and slips it back on his finger. Her eyes lingering on his had, fingers tracing the outline of the ring.

"Part of me wants to say yes. That not having your love would be enough to push me over the edge. However, in reality I know that the only thing that would really send me over is if you died. As long as you are walking around this world that would be enough for me." He replied.

"Why did you do it then?"

"I thought that maybe if you thought I would actually go that far that maybe it would bring you back" He replies, a small amount of shame making its way through his words.

"Well it worked." She stated "I can't lose you. Just the thought that I would never see you again was enough." She continued while caressing his face.

"Never leave me again Elena."

"I promise."

Elena leans in and kisses him with all the passion she has been holding back since she flipped the switch. Damon pulls her close wrapping one arm around her waist and threads his other hand through her long brown hair. Pulling back Damon gazed into her eyes. Threading his hand through hers he lead her to his massive king size bed. As he lay there with his girl in his arms he could finally say the words he'd been dying to say since he first heard those same words fall from her lips. With Elena finally having her humanity and the sire bond broken, he could say the words knowing it was just as real for her as it was for him. He was finally at peace as he pulled her closer and whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too."


End file.
